New old Leupold

[Wayne t]

hi guys
Looking for a bit of help if poss from you guys across the pond please
Picked up a nice little Leupold scope the other day but there's no model number on it only serial number and made in the USA it's inch body 2 or 4x24 number on the scope is 305830A
Not sure what it's going to be rated to recoil wise any help greatly appreciated
Thanks
Wayne

 

[Wheels]

This is probably your best bet.

https://www.leupold.com/service-support/contact-us

 

[Wayne t]

Yeah I tried that no joy
Oh well I will stick it on next week and see if it survives some zeroing

 

[sierraone]

A quick check on the serial number tells me it's not valid, meaning it's counterfeit. I would suggest you call Leupold tomorrow and talk to a person for confirmation. Good luck, it could still be a usable scope if mounted on a low recoiling caliber.

 

[BRICKBURN]

https://www.leupold.com/service-support/resources/counterfeit-warning




You can determine when it was made by the serial number located on the center saddle section. Beginning in 1974, Leupold began letter coding riflescope serial numbers. All scopes produced during that year had the letter E as a prefix to the serial number. The next year the letter code was advanced to F, and so on through the alphabet. The letters I,O, and Q, were skipped so that they wouldn't be confused with numbers. When they reached Z in 1992 they started over at the beginning of the alphabet with letter A. This time they used a suffix.



Prefix

E - 1974

F - 1975

G - 1976

H - 1977

J - 1978

K - 1979

L - 1980

M - 1981

N - 1982

P - 1983

R - 1984

S - 1985

T - 1986

U - 1987

V - 1988

W -1989

X - 1990

Y - 1991

Z - 1992



Suffix

1993 - A

1994 - B

1995 - C

1996 - D

1997 - E

1998 - F

1999 - G

2000 - H

2001 - J

2002 - K

2003 - L

2004 - M


2005 - N

2006 - P

2007 - R

2008 - S

2009 - T

2010 - U

2011 - V

2012 - W

2013 - X

2014 - Y

2015 - Z

 

[Wayne t]

Hmmmmm cheers for that
So it could be an 93 build and that would match age condition of the scope as its deffo not a new optic that's for sure so really doubt it's a counterfeit I only gave 125 bucks in English so no biggie either way it either survives or it don't it was more a case of being nosey as to what I had picked up
Thanks
Wayne

 

[fourfive8]

The serial number sounds legit and consistent for the age. That 4x24 size is a little unusual and reminds me of when they were concentrating on some of the special purpose designs. Bottom line- if the optics and adjustments are still good- should be a very useful scope!

 

[Wayne t]

Thanks for that I'm guessing it's either 2x or 4x power wise as no markings to say exactly what it is

 

[Wayne t]

Here It is

 

[fourfive8]

Thanks, for posting pics- that scope looks legit every way. Without markings, you might compare side by side with known 2x and 4x scope(s) to extrapolate an approx. power. My thought still (which could be all wet of course) is that it is possibly one of the many "special purpose" scopes that started appearing on the market about that time. Also just curious, what is the approximate eye relief? Any of the details really don't matter if it functions correctly.

 

[Ray B]

That scope resembles the M8 2xEER which was produced in the early 90's. The EER stood for Extended Eye Relief and was for handguns. Leupold also made a normal eye relief model for rifles but I don't recall if they still made one in 2 or 2.5x by 1993.

 

[Wayne t]

that's interesting thanks for that info
I've just been playing with it next to an old Weaver K2.5-1 I've got kicking around and I would say no bigger in the magnification for sure just shorter and lighter
It's a rifle scope the eye relief is around 3 inches not a handgun scope at all
And again Big Thanks for all the help and info on this
Wayne

 

[Firebird]

It wouldn't be the worst idea just to send it to leupold and have them clean/check the scope. They can answer any questions you may have and handle some wear and tear issues before they become serious. Their service dept does return calls if you leave your number. I've had several outstanding experiences with leupold service dept-

 

[Wayne t]

Finally heard back from the folks at Leupold earlier today here's what I got back
That scope serial number is to old for me to look up its from the early 90s most likely a vari X model .
All I can say is I'm glad I never bothered calling them from the UK and sitting on hold to be told that info you guys on here gave me better info than the Leupold technical expert so thanks to all of you who commented on this
Wayne

 

[Abeln]

Have you removed the lense cover from the objective end?

Leupold typically has a magnification number stamped in the gold ring.